'Online dating is a start, usually followed by the standard romantic courtship, like dates, going dancing, going out together, and so on.'Online dating can have some negative sides, but the fact that exposes us to people outside our networks is definitely a big plus.' This new way of meeting sets up social links that were previously rare – such as interracial couples, according to the researchers.They added: 'Understanding the evolution of interracial marriage is an important problem, for intermarriage is widely considered a measure of social distance in our societies.'In their study, the researchers simulated what happened when extra links are introduced into a social network made up of men and women from different races.To do this, they built a virtual network of men and women from different races.For simplicity, each "agent" was looking to marry a member of the opposite sex.While online dating used to be somewhat taboo, millions of people around the world are now using apps and websites to find love.

In a new study, Dr Josue Ortega from the University of Essex and Mr Philipp Hergovich from the University of Vienna looked at the effect online dating is having on society.This leads to a society with low levels of interracial marriage.But when the researchers added links between people without a connection – such as through online dating - the level of interracial marriage rapidly increased.And while you might think that online dating takes away the personal aspect of courting, Dr Ortega explained that he doesn't believe this is the case.He told Mail Online: 'I do not think meeting someone on Tinder is much different than meeting them in a bar.Afterall, the simplicity of the model doesn't account for agents' preferences or real-life obstacles.